Film Screening 8th September, 2018

Ideal Home

7:00 PM, 8th September, 2018

Rating M

Length 91 mins

Year 2018

The celebrity impersonator/food critic from The Trip series has paired up with Marvel’s Ant-Man for an unlikely coupling in this comedic family drama. In Ideal Home, Paul (Rudd) and Erasmus (Coogan) are a gay couple who live an extravagant lifestyle but are constantly quarrelling about everything under the sun. One day, in the middle of a dinner party, young Bill (Gore) shows up and claims to be Erasmus’ grandson. With no other options (since Bill’s dad was sent to jail), Paul and Erasmus begrudgingly let the little kid into their lives.

Someone once said, “Having children makes you see the world in a completely different way.” There is definite truth in that, and this movie clearly shows how the lives of Paul and Erasmus are changed for the better by Bill’s arrival, and how his existence brightens up their days.

Come for the bickering, stay for the laughs, and the happy tears. If you enjoy a feel-good comedy-drama, be sure to block out this evening in your social calendar.

Xin Yi Tan

Menashe

8:41 PM, 8th September, 2018

Rating PG

Length 82 mins

Year 2017

Following the death of his wife Leah, Menashe (Lustig) loses custody of his young son Rieven (Niborski) to his married sister because the family values of his ultra-Orthodox Jewish Hasidic community prohibit him from raising his son alone. When his rabbi grants him a week with his son before Leah’s memorial it’s his chance to prove himself a fit father and regain custody of his son.

The fictional plot is loosely based on the real-life experience of Menashe Lustig (who plays himself in the movie). The film is set in a real Hasidic community in Brooklyn and the entire cast are non-professionals. It also has subtitles since almost all the cast converse in the traditional Jewish language of Yiddish. If you listen carefully you’ll notice how many Yiddish words have enriched the English language.

Although the premise of this movie is sad, there are moments of comedy when the fictional Menashe demonstrates what a schlimazel (unlucky person) he is. The charm of this movie is also that it provides a candid, insider look at the Jewish Hasidic society, not often depicted on the big screen.